In a world where sweet treats are readily available and often irresistible, it's easy to fall into the trap of consuming too much sugar. From sugary snacks to sweetened beverages, the average American diet is inundated with added sugars, leading to a host of health issues. But what exactly is the impact of excessive sugar consumption, and how can we make healthier choices to curb our intake?

The Sweet Stats

According to the American Heart Association, the average American consumes around 17 teaspoons, or 71 grams, of added sugar per day. This staggering amount exceeds the recommended daily limit by more than double. What's even more concerning is that much of this sugar isn't just coming from the obvious sources like candy and soda; it's hidden in processed foods such as bread, sauces, and even seemingly healthy snacks like protein and granola bars.

The Bitter Truth

Excessive sugar consumption has been linked to numerous health problems, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, chronic inflammation, and even certain cancers. Furthermore, too much added sugar in your diet can damage your liver, similarly to the way that alcohol can. About a third of American adults and 13 percent of children have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition linked to added sugar consumption that is on the rise and that can progress to serious, even deadly, liver illness. 

We’ve all seen the beer belly associated with drinking too much alcohol. Consuming too much added sugar can lead to a similar condition called “sugar belly,” in which your waist is bigger than your hips. Sugar belly can arise when the liver repeatedly detects more fructose, a form of sugar found in many processed foods, than our bodies can use. To deal with it, the liver breaks down the extra fructose and changes it to fat globules, which are then exported into the bloodstream and deposited around your internal organs and midsection.

Finally, the scientific community is increasingly acknowledging the addictive nature of the fructose in processed foods and beverages. Brain scan studies show that fructose affects the dopamine system, a messenger center in the brain that controls how we experience pleasure. Eating lots of added sugar can create changes in the brain similar to those found in people who are addicted to cocaine and alcohol, and it’s one reason so many of us find ourselves craving sweets.

The Hidden Culprits

One of the biggest challenges in reducing sugar intake is identifying where it hides in our food. Many processed foods, even those marketed as "healthy" or "low-fat," are loaded with added sugars to enhance flavor and prolong shelf life. Ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup, dextrose, and maltose may not sound like sugar, but they're all forms of it, contributing to our daily intake without us even realizing it. In fact there are over 250 different names for sugar found in just U.S. food products alone.

To amplify the deception, descriptive terms such as “organic”, “local”, “fair trade“, or “non-gmo“ have recently been added to sugar names by food manufacturers. These descriptive terms don’t change the chemical structure of the sugar; they are added to make the sugar more appealing to the consumer and have little or nothing to do with how the sugar is metabolized.

Naturally Sweet

While added sugars should be limited, not all forms of sweetness are created equal. Natural sugars found in fruits come packaged with essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber, making them a healthier choice compared to processed sugars. When you eat a strawberry or other fruit, you are eating fructose in its natural state with its fiber structure still intact, which slows absorption and the rate at which sugar enters your bloodstream. So yes, it’s O.K. to eat fruit! Your body can handle fructose when it’s eaten as whole fruit.

But the fructose found in ultraprocessed foods and beverages is concentrated from corn, beets and sugar cane, and much or all of the fiber and nutrients have been removed. Without the fiber to slow it down, your body gets a big dose of fructose that can wreak havoc.

When in doubt choose unprocessed, whole fruits such as berries, apples, and oranges when you are looking for a sweet treat to satisfy your craving.